There is nothing quite like a college football game under the lights on a Saturday night. While most college football is played in the afternoon, there are those rare occasions when the schedule shows a night game. The importance of the game seems to elevate with the passing hours of the day. Your pre-game routines are altered as you count down the moments until “game time.”

It was a cool and crisp Saturday night in the Midwest. The lights were on, the fans were filling the stands, the band was playing, and we were ready for some football! From the opening kick-off the game was intense and neither team could get any momentum. With the clock ticking down toward half-time, the opposing team decided to “go for it all.” The quarterback took a seven-step drop while his lineman formed a pocket around him. As an outside linebacker, I read his eyes, saw the play developing, and dropped deep into my zone of coverage anticipating that the tight end would run an out pattern into my zone.

The play developed much as I thought, but instead of throwing to the tight end, the quarterback heaved the ball as far as he could down the sideline toward his wide receiver who was sprinting toward the end zone. Our defensive back was stride for stride with him and the ball came spiraling down near the sideline at about the fifteen yard line. Both players leaped high in the air to try to catch the ball and as they did, made contact with each other. As I sprinted toward the play, I saw the ball being tipped away at the last moment by my teammate and fall harmlessly to the ground. Almost instantaneously, however, I heard a scream! Read more »